Recently Big Pig, Brian (aka Porkchop) organized a bike light test for the upcoming winter season. Together with dirtdawg friends they tested 21 lights all altogether. The lights ranged from the usual suspects, LiM, Nite Rider to bargain basement offerings, as well as a couple of home builders. The results are by no means scientific, but they are fairly interesting.

So we did the big light test at NS last night, and got some good info on 21 lights.

Here are the results, in loose order of how the pictures turned out. There was some slop in the way we were aiming the lights, which affected the outcome a little, like making carlos’s 500L look dimmer than it was, because it was aimed off to the side a little. But overall, it’s easy to tell how each light looks on the trail.

The white trail marker and hanging shirt are 30 feet from the lights. The camera was set at F2.8, ISO100, 4 sec exposure. The white balance adjusted itself differently for the halogen lights, but not much.

The overall consensus of the group was that halogens are pretty much done, and older HIDs are just hanging on.

The “cheapos” are actually pretty well put together (for those of us who don’t know what the inside OUGHT to look like), and performed as well as many lights double or triple their price. Seriously, see for yourself.

Don’t worry too much about what order I have them in… I just drug the thumbnails around in the file folder until it looked close, and called it good.

Name brand LEDs have great build quality and brightness, but top prices. I would have liked to test NR’s new Pro600 and Pro1200s, but noone had one. The “home builders” like Zen and Amoeba turn out good product, and customization is a great perk, like being able to pick between spot and flood LEDs, and getting a battery that suits your needs without being overkill. Their prices aren’t cheap, but they’re very attractive compared to the big names, and seem to perform as well or better.